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Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Belarus (RATIFICATION: 1995)

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Observation

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the Government’s report received at the Office on 21 October 2010.

Legislation. The Committee notes that Council of Ministers Decree No. 332 of 11 April 1997 on matters within the remit of the Labour Inspection Committee was repealed in 2001 when that committee was abolished and the State Labour Inspection Department was set up under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The Committee once again asks the Government to state whether the following legal texts are still in force and, if so, to provide a copy of them: (i) Ministry of Labour and Social Protection Decree No. 22 of 27 December 2001 on the State Labour Inspection Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus; (ii) Council of Ministers Decree No. 1589 of 31 October 2001; (iii) Council of Ministers Decree No. 1236 of 10 August 2000 on the health inspection regulations; (iv) Council of Ministers Decree No. 26 of 10 January 1998 on the energy inspection regulations; (v) Council of Ministers Decree No. 377 of 18 June 1997 on the regulations concerning inspection of the technical status of tractors, irrigation, road building and agricultural machinery and equipment of collective farms and other cooperatives, state farms, enterprises, organizations, farmers’ households and citizens (technical inspection); (vi) Council of Ministers Decree No. 572 of 13 October 1995 on the Regulations regarding Labour Inspection in Industry and Nuclear Power Engineering. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would indicate whether the National Programme for the Improvement of Working Conditions 2006–10 (Council of Ministers Decree No. 905 of 16 August 2005), has been superseded by a new programme and, if so, to provide a copy of the latter.

Article 3 of the Convention. Functions of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the labour inspectorate appears to be largely responsible for supervision both of matters related to occupational safety and health and of employment relations and work contracts. Where civil contracts, including contracts for the performance of work of the provision of services or intellectual creations are not registered, the labour inspectorate may impose fines of up to 10 per cent of the amount of the contract. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the nature, purpose and proportion of the labour inspectorate’s activities that are related to the subject of civil contracts in relation to other activities under this Convention and to provide relevant data.

Articles 3, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18. Labour inspectors’ work in the prevention and supervision of occupational safety and health. The Committee notes the information that in 2009 the labour inspectorate carried out various educational activities including seminars, meetings, workshops, radio, television and other media programmes for the purpose of improving the qualifications of occupational safety and health managers and specialists in enterprises. It also notes that in the course of 2009, 232,000 breaches of occupational safety and health provisions were identified; 13 factories, 714 industrial sites and 13,000 facilities, machines and other items of industrial equipment which were a danger to the life and health of the workers were closed down; 5,484 persons were fined for administrative offences, and disciplinary proceedings were brought against 5,301 persons responsible for breaches of the labour legislation. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the labour inspectors’ work in the area of occupational safety and health, including the number of inspections conducted and offences reported, the areas of law concerned, the proceedings brought and the penalties imposed. It would also be grateful if the Government would indicate the penalties for breaches of occupational safety and health provisions and to provide copies of any relevant legal texts together with information on any measures taken to ensure that the labour inspectorate is informed of occupational accidents and cases of occupational disease, as required by Article 14 of the Convention.

The Committee notes the high number of breaches of legislation related to occupational safety and health reported by the labour inspection as well as the high number of fines imposed and disciplinary proceedings initiated. With reference to Article 3(1)(b) of the Convention, it recalls that the primary duties of labour inspectors include not only the enforcement of legislation but also the provision of technical information and advice to employers and workers concerning the most effective means of complying with legal provisions. It also notes with reference to Paragraph 7 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), that the labour inspectorate should take appropriate measures to ensure that employers and workers are given advice and instruction in labour legislation and questions of industrial hygiene and safety by such measures as lectures, radio talks, posters, pamphlets and films explaining the provisions of labour legislation and suggesting methods for their application and measures for preventing industrial accidents and occupational diseases. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure the provision of information and advice to employers and workers, notably through information and awareness-raising campaigns, in the area of occupational safety and health.

Labour inspectors’ authority to issue injunctions in the event of imminent danger. The Committee notes that according to the Government, when the Labour Inspection Department notes breaches of the safety and health legislation that threaten the life, health and work capacity of workers, it so informs the competent national authorities so that they may take measures to suspend the effect of special permits, licences, certificates and accreditations and cancel attestations and certificates. The Committee points out that, as it said in paragraphs 112 and 114 of its 2006 General Survey, in the event of imminent danger, measures with immediate effect should be ordered by labour inspectors or the competent authority at the request of labour inspectors. The Committee notes in this regard that, according to the Government, 16,131 workers were withdrawn from their duties in 2009 at the demand of labour inspectors, pursuant to section 49 of the Labour Code. Under that provision, at the request of authorized state bodies, employers must suspend any workers who report for work in a state of intoxication from alcohol or drugs; or who have failed to validate their knowledge of safety at work; or who fail to use the necessary individual protective equipment required for safety; or who have failed to undergo medical examination in the instances laid down in the law, etc. Given the high number of workers withdrawn from their duties at the demand of labour inspectors pursuant to section 49 of the Labour Code, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether sanctions are imposed against employers who allow employees to work in a state of intoxication or in cases where employers also bear part of the responsibility for the failure of workers to use their protective equipment or undergo medical examinations. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the other cases in which labour inspectors have the authority to make or to have made orders with immediate executory force in the event of imminent danger to the health or safety of the workers as a preventive measure.

Articles 8, 9 and 10. Labour inspection staff and collaboration of experts. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government on the number of inspectors by region. It notes that women account for 27.4 per cent of labour inspectorate staff and for over 45 per cent at headquarters and in the town of Minsk. Furthermore, the Committee notes with interest that women hold posts at various levels of management. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the criteria applied in fixing the number of labour inspectors and to take steps to ensure the availability of the requisite data on workplaces liable to inspection under this Convention.

The Committee notes that the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has the authority to hire experts and specialists to assist with inspection services, participate in specific activities or give their opinion on inspection-related issues. The Ministry may furthermore invite specialists and employers to take part in investigations on safety and health conditions. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further details on such collaboration, specifying the number of experts and specialists called upon to provide support to the inspection services or invited to participate in investigations during the period covered by the Government’s report, and indicating the geographical distribution in the areas of specialization. Please also provide information on the impact of this collaboration on the effectiveness of inspections.

Article 11. Resources available to labour inspection services. Noting the information supplied by the Government following its previous request on this subject, the Committee once again asks the Government to inform the Office about the impact of the improvement of transport facilities and office equipment on the coverage and efficiency of the labour inspectorate. It would also be grateful if the Government would indicate the number of vehicles available to labour inspectors and specify their distribution between provincial and district offices. The Government is also asked to provide copies of the forms used for the reimbursement of inspectors’ travel costs and other outlays incurred in duty travel.

Article 12(1)(c)(i) and (iii). Inspection prerogatives. Interrogations and enforcement of the posting of notices. The Committee notes that no information has been supplied on the legislation adopted to empower inspectors to interrogate during inspection visits, alone or in the presence of witnesses, the employer or the staff of the undertaking on any matters concerning the application of the legal provisions, as required by Article 12(1)(c)(i) of the Convention and to enforce the posting of notices required by the legal provisions, as provided in Article 12(1)(c)(iii). The Committee accordingly asks the Government once again to provide information on the legal provisions that give effect to Article 12(1)(c)(i) and (iii) of the Convention and to send copies of any relevant texts. If there are no such provisions in the law, the Government is asked to take steps to remedy the matter and to keep the ILO informed of all developments.

Articles 20 and 21. Publication and communication to the ILO of an annual report on the work of the inspection services. The Committee notes the statistical information supplied by the Government on the work of the Department of State Labour Inspection. It further notes that, according to the Government, data on fatal injuries in industry are published every month on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and that quarterly statistical data on the supervisory work of the Department of State Labour Inspection are posted on the same site, and published every six months in the Occupational Safety and Health and Social Protection Review. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the indications given in Part IV of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), as to the amount of detail that can usefully be included in the information required by Article 21(a)–(g) of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would take steps to ensure that an annual report is published by the central inspection authority containing information on each of the subjects listed in Article 21, namely the staff of the labour inspection service, statistics of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein, statistics of inspection visits, violations and penalties imposed, specifying the relevant legal provisions, and statistics of industrial accidents and occupational diseases. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of progress made in this respect in its next report.